Green Crush
by Kikaruu
Summary: Xana, as a female, pays a visit to the real world for once, and vies with Sissy for Odd's affection. Hilarity ensues.
1. I'll Take a Stroll Through Reality

Someone suggested I write a story where Xana is stalking someone, but I can't remember if it is Odd or Sissy. Either way, Xana is vying for someone's attention with the other. I'm thinking that Xana is going after Odd, and Sissy is as well. Pretty much, it's a love triangle. One more thing: I picked Odd because I can't get over calling Xana male. Xana's a machine, so I don't think Xana has a gender, but for the sake of this story, Xana is female. I hope you enjoy it!

__________

After a long night of plotting, Xana was getting bored. All she wanted was a little world domination! I mean, that's not asking for much at all, is it? _I'm not trying to resurrect my fallen lover or something... This should at least be granted to me._ She curled up in a ball and thought things over again and again. The more she looked at her situation, at her mind, at life in general, the more stupid and immature the prospect of taking over the world seemed. Wasn't there anything else she could do with her power?

_Yes... yes there is._ She called up one of her processing threads and reviewed it. This particular thread was focused on Odd Della Robbia. _Odd... I wonder..._ She thought for an hour, and her internal monologue went something like this:

_My existence shall not be futile. I will deviate from harm and instead turn to a proper life, by human standards. At least, for a while... Or forever. I do feel like a change every once and a while. Perhaps... Perhaps I'll just become a human, and live life their way. There has got to be a reason why those Lyoko warriors are always smiling... and at the same time, I'm always grim. I must seek out the better side of living, and to do that, I must become human. Not only human, but a girl. I think I'm much like a girl. I refer to myself as female... even though _they_ refer to me as male. And if I'm female, perhaps I can find a mate? No, not mate... Boyfriend. Yeah, that's what humans call their potential mates these days. Maybe life as a person won't be so bad._

_And then, I might find happiness. That's what I'm missing anway, right? Happiness? All I can recall is sorrow and destruction. I think it's high time to try something new. I need to smile more, and not just at broken bones and broken spirits. Maybe then, I'll be a little cheery..._

This basically went on for another hour.

Anyway, Xana started carving out a plan, and when it looked good, she set it into action. A silent tower activated in Lyoko, glowing red with Xana's presence. However, it didn't register at all on any scanner that Jeremy used. Why? Because it wasn't there to hurt anyone.

...Right?

* * *

As the bell rang for the morning's classes to begin, Ms. Hertz scrawled on the board, "Please make room for the new student." Those who came in early stopped their playing and joking to wonder at the situation, and each sat down at a table near the door. They were most of the Lyoko crew – Yumi Ishiiyama, Ulrich Stern, and Odd Della Robbia. The other two members, Jeremy Belpois and Aelite Stones, hadn't arrived yet.

"So, senior year finally starts and we have a new student."

Odd frowned as he remembered how old she was. "Hey, it's your senior year, Yumi, not ours. We're juniors, remember?"

"Yeah, I forgot about that..." Yumi shrugged her backpack off her shoulders and slumped into her seat. "Just one more year. One more! Then, I can get my plan underway."

"Oh, so you already picked out a college?" asked Jeremy.

"I'm not going to college, remember?"

Ulrich choked on his soda, and Odd dropped the pencil he was writing with. "Wait, you aren't going to college?" asked Ulrich, the brunette.

"Nope. My parents really want me to go, but I think I'm going to hang out around the town for a couple of years, and then go later on. And by hang out, I mean check out a few career fields." Yumi shrugged and tucked a lock of her ever-growing hair behind her ear.

"I don't think you ever told us before," said Ulrich.

"I didn't? Sorry. I've had my plan set like this for a while now." Seeing her boyfriend's expression, she added, "Don't worry, I'll visit you at your university."

"Do you know which one that is?" Ulrich raised an eyebrow.

"Umm... Last I checked you were still deciding?" She smiled sheepishly and Ulrich opened his mouth to counter.

Aelita walked in then. "Nice save, Yumi."

"Thank you." Yumi smiled and pulled a chair out for her friend.

"Well, enough about important stuff. I checked all of your schedules last night, and it looks like we all have the same classes." Odd picked up a few sheets of paper – evidently, copies he had made.

"Hey! Schedules are private!" Aelita reached for her copy.

"Ah, I don't think so. We all already agreed to show each other our schedules anyway." Ulrich finished his empty can towards the trash can. _In as always,_ he thought.

"Good point, but you shouldn't have snuck into my things," said Yumi.

"I didn't; I delivered them to all of you guys, remember? I just stopped by the copy room to make a few copies. No big deal."

"You better be happy it's not a big deal," said Aelita.

"Now, now, we don't need any violence." Mrs. Hertz loomed over the table, even though she was only five feet tall.

"I wasn't going to hit him!"

"Then lower your fist and pull out some paper." Mrs. Hertz smiled and walked back to the whiteboard, where she was listing seat assignments...

"Guys, we might have to split up soon," whispered Odd.

"No need, I'm going to let you four sit together. After all your schedules are so alike anyway, right?" Mrs. Hertz smiled smugly and turned back to the board.

"You overheard," said Ulrich.

"No, I just happened to see some copies in the copy room. Speaking of which, you now owe our school eleven dollars for all the ink and paper."

"What?!" shouted Odd. "I only made one copy of each schedule!"

"One? Or a hundred?" asked Jeremy calmly. Everyone jumped at his voice; it was almost as if he'd teleported there instantly.

"Jeremy, how many times have I told you not to scare your classmates?"

"Sorry, Mrs. Hertz." He pushed up his glasses and placed his laptop on his table, and his bag on the floor.

"Hey, where's the rest of the class?" asked Yumi.

"Well, this summer, a lot of changes were made," began Jeremy. "The most relevant at the moment would be the pushing forward of the start and end of school. Officially, we are twenty minutes early."

"Seriously? Then if you knew, why did you come so early?" asked Odd.

"I figured that of all the students here, my friends missed the announcement. We were probably fighting you-know-who at the moment. I only knew 'cause I update the school's website, and anything that needs to be published goes through me." He was absolutely beaming with confidence.

"Nerd." (Odd)

"Geek." (Ulrich)

"Dork." (Yumi)

"Four-eyes." (Aelita!)

"Hey! Even you, Aelita?"

"Relax, it was a joke. We really don't think of you that way." Odd paused to scratch his non-existent chin hairs and stare out of the window. "Or do we?" He slid his eyes over to Jeremy.

"Dude, c'mon!" Jeremy sighed and opened up his laptop. "Whatever, I know you're joking."

"That's the spirit! Noogie!" Odd hopped clear over the table and encased Jeremy in a headlock, rubbing his scalp with his knuckle furiously.

"Now, now, you guys, cut it out. Do I have to separate you two?" asked Yumi, her matronly side showing.

"No, mother," droned the entire group, snickering. Mrs. Hertz looked on with a smile.

"I thought so." Yumi grinned, threateningly cracked her knuckles, and sat back down. _It seems like this year will be okay._

Just then, a knock came at the open door, and a small hand opened it. "Umm, good morning... I'm looking for Mrs. Hertz?"

"That's me. Are you Pico Rousseau?"

"Yes, ma'am." A small girl stepped into the classroom, and all six pairs of eyes were trained on her. She was dressed simply, with a white T-shirt and white jeans. What everyone noticed the most was her hair, which was almost as long as she was tall. Jet black and sleek, it was a striking impression against her pale skin and white clothes. Her satchel was a greyish color, which matched her eyes and shoes. Something seemed a little... wild about her, as if she would bolt for the door any moment. Not noticing everyone's appraisal of her, she pushed up her glasses nervously, and clutched her satchel tightly with both hands.

With her thumbs fidgeting with a pendant on her necklace, she asked, "Is this Science three?"

"Yup!" shouted Odd, and he jumped up to shake her hand. "Hi, I'm Odd Della Robbia. I'm the only one who matters here, so we might as well pretend those four over there don't even exist, oka—"

"Odd, you take that back!" Aelita grinned and also stood. "Welcome to Science three. This is Yumi Ishiiyama, Ulrich Stern, and Jeremy Belpois." She pointed to each one in kind, and finally to herself. "I'm Aelita Stones."

"Th-thank you for the w-welcome." Pico was shaking even more than before.

"Aww, did I scare you? I don't bite!" Odd smiled widely, and Pico took a nervous step back.

"I can tell." She forged a smile and relaxed a little. "As you may know, I'm Pico Rousseau." She gave a small wave and tucked an incredibly long lock of hair behind her ear.

"Cool. Why don't you pull up a chair to this table..." Yumi noticed something. "Hey, Mrs. Hertz, wasn't there a lot of those chair-desk combo thingies, and not tables before?"

"Well, this is supposed to be a science room, so we took all the tables from math class and switched them to here. This was groups can work together a little more and we won't have so many accidents this year."

"Accidents?" asked Pico.

"Yep. Last year, we had... twenty-three injuries?"

"Yeah," confirmed Jeremy. "I still can't believe Nicolas drank the level two base because it looked like grape juice..." He glanced at the new girl. "You aren't going to do anything like that, are you?"

"No, I'm well aware of the risks of all bases."

"Good." Jeremy smiled, and turned back to his laptop. _C'mon, drinking a base? Thankfully, it was only as basic as baking soda, but if it were, say, sodium hydroxide..._

"Well, I'm going to step out for a moment. Aelita, can you keep things in order?" asked the teacher. _What I'm not going to tell them is that I'm leaving for some... FLAN! Oh, the joys of flan, that Jello-like substance with the consistency of pudding... Oh, yes, the vending machines are the only way I make it through the day! If it wasn't for flan, I'd..._ Deep in ecstatic thoughts, she almost didn't hear Aelita's reply.

"Sure, Mrs. Hertz." Aelita smiled and saluted.

"Okay, then, I'll be back before class starts. Oh, and I'm NOT leaving to get some flan, if you were wondering... Ciao!" She grabbed a folder of papers and left the room.

And then, the questions burst like torrents from everyone's mouths.

"What's your favorite color?!" (Odd)

"How long are you going here?" (Ulrich)

"What kind of bands do you like?" (Aelita)

"Do you like dogs?!" (Odd, again)

"How did your hair get that long?" (Yumi)

"Have you ever fought a level nineteen Dark Stalker?" (Jeremy? Wait, he plays MMOs?)

"Why are your eyes green, but your hair is black?" (Aelita)

"Do you like to eat?!"(Odd, for the third freaking time! Silly brat...)

"Where'd you move from?" (Ulrich?)

"Do you like computers?" (Jeremy... Hmm, didn't see that coming!)

"What's your schedule like?" (Ulrich, who received a prompt smack on the arm by Yumi)

"Can you keep a secret?" (Odd)

At the last question, everyone stopped and stared at Odd.

"What? I was just going to ask her if she wouldn't mind helping me with Kiwi sometimes!" Odd rolled his eyes. "It's not like I was going to tell her about anything dangerous or world threatening or whatever."

"That was a very specific denial. Should I be worried about anything?" asked Pico.

"No, that's just one of my favorite things to say because it's so crazy. Like pineapples. Did you know that pineapples are crazy?" On the outside, he was trying to make his earlier outburst seem as random as possible, but inside, he was hoping that she didn't blow it out of proportion. _We do NOT need a new member right now._

"Oh! I always thought so, too!" Pico smiled her first real smile since she got there, and pulled out one of her notebooks, which had a name scrawled across the front: Blok. "In fact, here are some of my theories..." She suddenly snapped out of it and saw everyone's raised eyebrows, minus Odd. But, then again, Odd was naturally odd, and seemed to feast on her sudden manic energy.

Blok went back into the bag. "Never mind. Oh, by the way, to answer your questions..." She thought for a moment. "Blue. Until I graduate. I mainly listen to the genres shoegaze and techno, but I listen to other styles as well. I like dogs, but prefer cats. My hair has rarely been cut. I've fought Dark Stalkers up to level twenty-three. I'm wearing contacts until I find my glasses in my moving boxes, and my eyes are naturally grey. I don't have a real opinion on eating; I'm of the 'eat-to-live, not 'live-to-eat' types. I'm from Scotland. I have three computers, and love them. Judging by the schedules in front of you, my classes are the same as yours. I can also keep a total secret." She inhaled after her long reply, _to each and every question_, and stared at the group.

"I think you answered every question..." Jeremy said, a shocked look on his face.

"Yeah. That was impressive, even if you prefer cats," said Odd, pouting. Aelita lightly socked him in the arm.

"I think the only person we've seen who's done that is Jeremy. Right, Jer?"

"Yeah... right." They all stared at Pico for a moment, and a wicked blush crept across her face.

"Well, it's nice to meet you." Pico smiled and rummaged through her satchel for something.

"Hey, you don't have to say that. You're staying here, remember? It's not like you're about to leave." Odd threw an arm around her shoulder in a half-hug.

"Thanks, I think." Pico blinked twice, and laughed.

"Don't mention it." Ulrich grinned, and everyone sat back and thought about how much weirder the year would get.

Pico found what she was looking for: Ana, another of her notebooks. She had a penchant for naming things. She looked out the window for a brief moment, and no one noticed that her eyes briefly reflected the sign of Xana in the rising sun. She turned back to the blank pages in front of her, and began to draw a simple picture. By the time she was done, Odd had drawn a picture of her, and they laughed; _she_ had drawn a picture of _him_, and all the students in the classroom had taken their seats... but not before noticing the drawings.

Amidst whistles and various voices proclaiming the appearance of Odd's new girlfriend, Mrs. Hertz called for order, and class began. Blushing from head to toe, Pico took notes and tried not to laugh at the silly faces Odd was making at her. With his face the same shade of crimson as her own, he looked especially comiclal. Thankfully, his back was to the teacher, as were Ulrich's and Yumi's, but if Mrs. Hertz saw him then, surely she'd...

_Oh well. At least the lesson is interesting._ Pico sighed, tried to keep her face straight, and began her first year at Kadic... as a student.

__________

Done. One thing I'm working on is a more relaxed, conversational narration. I also tried to make the characters more like themselves; lately, it seems I've been taking too many liberties with the things they say and how they act. Anyway, whatcha think?


	2. Hey, Maybe Odd Really is Cute!

I'm going to try something I saw a friend of mine do in her stories: If you have any questions, ask them in a review, and I will try to answer them in a final chapter. Not by incorporating them into the plot, but by answering the question by question. That sounds okay, neh?

___________

Lunch was a disaster.

"Pico, if you know what's good for me, you'll sit at _my_ table," sang Sissy, her tray balanced on her knee as she tied her shoes.

"Why do you say that?" Pico cocked her head to one side, and held her own tray with one hand as she adjusted her satchel.

Sissy looked up at her in shock. "What? You can't tell how weird those five guys are?" She pointed at the Lyoko crew, who were sitting down, eating their lunches and staring at Pico and Sissy. It was undoubted that they were trying to see which table Pico would sit at. Ulrich mouthed something to Odd, and he stood up and walked over to the lunch line.

"They're all freaking strange... except for Odd."

"What was that?" asked Pico.

"Nothing!" said Sissy and snapped her mouth shut. Her face started to turn a little pink, but stopped short of a full blush.

Odd appeared behind them, holding a tray with a (sadly) smaller serving than normal. _Rosa might give me seconds, but she sure does like to skimp on them these days..._ "Ahoy, Pico, is the mighty Kraken named Sissy giving you any trouble?"

"The only one giving her trouble is you, Odd Della Robbia!"

"Haha, yeah, that's me!" Odd smiled and put his tray on his head.

"Ugh, see what I mean, Pico?"

"A moment ago didn't you say that Odd was the only one who wasn't weird?" Pico asked, and Sissy and Odd both turned to look at her.

"Erm, no, Pico, why would I say that?"

"Oh. I thought for sure I heard," and Pico imitated her voice _perfectly_, "'They're all freaking strange... except for Odd."

Odd turned to Sissy, his serious face a heavy contrast to the comical balancing act he was performing. "Is this true? Do you really thing I'm," his smile grew wider than ever, "NOT WEIRD?!"

"If I ever did, not anymore! C'mon, Pico, let's go sit down."

"No, wait, Odd wants me to sit with him. And your shoelace is tied, so I why are you still kneeling?"

"I'm not keeling." Sissy stood up and placed her tray upon her shoulder, where it perched like a freakish parrot.

"Yeah you were." Odd slid his tray down his arm and to his elbow, where it wobbled twice, then stayed still.

"You're kneeling again." Pico caught on to the game they were playing, hunched her back, and placed her tray on it.

"What the–?" Sissy stood up _again_, and somehow got her tray to balance on her chin. It required intense ninja efforts and the precision of a teddy bear, but she managed it. I am not making this up.

"That's right, it seems you have kneeling body syndrome!" The tray moved from elbow to fingertip.

"What's that?" asked Pico. From her back to stomach.

"Something ridiculous Odd made up." Sissy sneered. Chin to chest.

"Whatever it is, come sit at my table." Odd smiled. Fingertip to a raised toe.

"No, mine! You'll never have the new girl sit with you! Ever!" Sissy grabbed Pico's arm and hauled her off, leaving Odd looking very confused... with a tray of food on his foot.

At her table, Sissy sat next to Pico, with Nicolas and Herb across from them. "These are my lackeys, Nicolas and Herb."

"Hello." Nicolas smiled slightly and turned back to his handheld portable video game system, complete with stunning 8-bit graphics!!!

"Howdy." Herb turned a page in his science book.

Pico glanced at Herb. "'Howdy?' Isn't that a Texas thing?"

"Where's Texas?" asked Sissy.

"It's a state in North America." Herb momentarily paused his reading, took a bite of meatloaf, and continued. The meatloaf exploded in his face, showering him and Nicolas in gravy and... Hamburger meat?! Rosa skimped again!

Everyone stared for a moment, and then the laughs came, utterly humiliating Herb. "Odd, one of these days I'm gonna..."

"Hey, don't look at me, pipsqueak." Odd pointed at Jeremy and Aelita, who both smiled, then bolted from the lunch room.

"What? Jeremy pulled a prank?" said Sissy, turning around to stare at what remained of her enemies.

Yumi and Ulrich shrugged, and Odd grinned. "It's the silent ones you have to watch out for."

"Why I ought-a..." Nicolas, also showered in tasty gravy, started to rise from the table, when Pico shot out a hand in denial.

"Stop. He will beat you like a small dog. Let your anger be as a monkey in a piñata, hoping the children don't break through with the stick."

Her eyes full of fire, Sissy demanded, "You dare quote 'Kung Pow' in my presence?"

"No, wait, don't hurt me! I plead ignorance!" Pico huddled in her chair, her timid personality showing.

"Relax, I'm just kidding." Sissy smiled and ruffled her hair.

"'Kay." Pico smiled back and dug into her meatloaf, back to normal.

"Forget dogs and monkeys, Jeremy's mine this time." Nicolas and Herb finished their food, walked mechanically to the trashcans, and threw away their trays. They then spent a moment powering up to their next levels before leaving the cafeteria, their eyes blazing. Tamagotchi are quite impressive little toys, especially wen leveled up...

"What just happened?" asked the Headmaster, gesturing to the gravy spattering the wall, ceiling, table, floor... you get the idea.

"Jeremy put a bomb in Herb's meatloaf."

"What?! I could never believe such a thing. Jeremy is such a sweet and innocent kid, and his grades are so lush, and ooh! Have you seen his room, it's so tidy and straight..." Headmaster Delmas gushed about him ad nauseum for a while, and Pico and Sissy got bored fast.

"But he _did_ do it, Daddy," countered Sissy.

'Well, if my darling dearest daughter says so, then it must be so." He held Sissy's hands in his and smiled. Sissy and Pico rolled their eyes, and then Headmaster was off, to catch the one named Jeremy... Jeremy Belpois.

"Well, I just remembered that I have something to do." Sissy got up from the table, waved a goodbye to Pico, and was also off.

Pico finished her lunch, noticed that there was still a few minutes left for lunch, and walked the two feet to Odd's table.

"Are you guys absolutely sure that Sissy is such a bad kid?" Pico glanced out the window to Sissy's sprinting form.

"Yes. We go way, way back." Yumi shuddered and took another bite of her meatloaf. Odd pulled out a chair for Pico, and Ulrich shrugged and pushed food around his plate.

"If you say so, then I might be sitting with you guys from now on." Pico pulled out Ana and a pencil.

"No, no, don't let us ruin your relationship with Sissy," said Odd. "If you want to be friends with her, we won't stand in your way."

"That's funny. Sissy said something like that before lunch. She really doesn't like you guys, though."

"Trust me, we know," replied Yumi.

Pico tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and started sketching her view of the scene around her; Odd, shoveling _thirds_ into his mouth, Yumi lazily sketching and eating, and Ulrich bored as ever, looking wistfully out the window.

_This place is boring. I wish I was on Lyoko._ He sighed and took another bite of his fluffy potatoes, wondering if it was right for him to wish that Xana would launch an attack.

Oddly, Yumi's cell phone rang, and Jeremy said he'd found an activated tower in the forest region. He wanted all of them there as soon as possible; the tower was activated a week ago, and nothing that reeked of Xana showed up on the news, and the scan hadn't picked it up.

The three Lyoko members excused them, and rushed towards the factory. Pico finished her food and drifted into the courtyard, bored out of her mind. Besides, she was getting used to life, and wanted to experience more ranges of input.

Lunch let her know about this thing called "taste", and she had gotten used to "touch". As she passed a garbage bin, she learned part of the darker side of "smell". She was sort of sad that eyes could only see within a narrow range, and missed her infrared and ultraviolet cameras. However, she could hear sounds within a considerably wide range, and smiled at laughter, and frowned at crying.

She was getting the whole "living" thing down well, she thought. Maybe she would stay human for a while longer, and in that time, get closer to Odd Della Robbia.

Jeremy and Aelita got detention for their prank, and had to clean the whole lunchroom. Pico found that both Sissy and the Lyoko crew could be trusted, and it turned out the activated tower somehow couldn't be stopped.

For the time being, they'd just observe; what else could they do? Frustrated, weary, and wary of everything, they headed their separate ways, and slept until the dawn.

And with dawn, the year grew even weirder and weirder and weirder...

__________

...And weirder. Nah, I'm just kidding about that last part. It _did_ get weirder, though, but you'll just have to wait and see. Not just you, but you'll all see! All of you! BWA HA HA HA HA!!

Oh, and review if you want. I actually want to finish this one.


	3. Light is Actually Quite Slow

Here's the third chapter, _Light is Actually Quite Slow_. Be prepared to check out a new look at Xana, and who s/he really is. You know, as I see it. After I haven't been sleeping much. Umm... yeah. ^_^;;

__________

"You're late."

"Maybe you're just early?"

"Maybe." Pico smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. _Stupid hair. I know Odd prefers longer hair, but was more than three feet really too long?_ "So, are you ready?"

"I don't know. You said I should bring..." He rummaged through his backpack, rattling off various items. "Paper, scissors, tape, pencils, bottled water, gummy bears, and gummy worms, and gummy sharks, and last, but not least, a smile!" He grinned, and Pico gave him a playful shove.

"Yeah, that's everything." Pico glanced in her satchel. "Devoid of schoolwork, I've got everything you have, plus licorice, ginger and cinnamon."

"Why the spices?"

"By licorice I meant the candy, and the ginger and cinnamon is to prevent you from getting sick."

"Why would I get sick?"

"Well, after a session of origami, we're going skydiving."

* * *

To be exact, three days, ten hours and thirty-six minutes had passed since Pico was first introduced to her classmates. Is that specific enough for you?!

Anyway, Sissy and her cronies were watching Pico and Odd joke together as they walked out of the school gates and towards downtown. Sissy was fuming, and Nicolas and Herb were absent-mindedly playing cards.

"Who does that new girl think she is? Everyone knows I'm trying to get Odd!"

"Umm, Sissy, no they don't. Everyone thinks you like Ulrich, remember?" said Nicolas, his game with Herb taking a slight turn towards defeat.

"Shut up, Nick. You know what I mean."

Nicolas sighed and stood up, Herb at his side. "Herb, I think it's time."

"Okay. You tell her." He gave the taller boy a slight shove forward.

"What? I thought we agreed that you were going to tell her!" Nicolas pushed Herb.

"Okay, whatever it is, can you just tell me?" Sissy set her hands on her hips and eyed the two nervous boys.

"Fine. I'll tell her," said Herb, his chest puffed out. "Sissy..." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Nicolas wanted to tell you that we're not going to put up with the way you treat us any longer!" Herb dashed away, leaving an angry Sissy and a scared Nicolas.

"You _what?_"

"Err...." Nicolas came to the necessary conclusion. "Yeah. You treat us like crap, Sissy, and I don't like that kind of thing." Nicolas just then realized that he was taller than Sissy, and could be quite an imposing figure when he wanted to be.

"Uh... Uhh..." stammered Sissy. "You know, you're right. Sorry!" Sissy turned on her heel, dashed for the safety of the office, and tripped on her own two feet.

"Want some help?" asked Nicolas, his hand outstretched.

"No, I'll manage!" Sissy tried to get up, tripped again, and somehow turned a somersault. "On second thought..."

Nicolas grabbed her hand, helped her to her feet, and pointed at Herb, panting against the wall of the main building. "Herb agrees with me. Could you just leave us alone or something?"

For Sissy, this was a rather familiar set of circumstances, and she mentally slammed her head against the wall for letting her emotions get the better of her. And within the instant, the tears started flowing as she was reminded of the same words Ulrich had said to her a year before.

_Sissy, can't you see that I just. Don't. Like. You?_ Sissy winced as she remembered how he punctuated every word with a fist into his backpack, almost as though he wished the backpack was her. "Please... just leave me alone."

She snapped out of her memory when she found Nicolas's arms around her. "There, there, Sissy, we're not going to beat you up or anything. We're still your friends."

"Eew! Stop hugging me!" she weakly fought him until she stopped struggling and just cried. At least she had a shoulder to lean on, even when she felt she shouldn't. _Stupid emotions, getting in the way of life._

"Nicolas, what are you doing?" boomed the Headmaster, _again_ seeming to coalesce from nowhere.

"Ack! Sissy was crying, so I..."

"Get your hands off my daughter!" The Headmaster raised a threatening hand and the stark-raving-mad smile on his face made Nicolas push the crying girl away. "Y-y-y-yes, s-sir!"

Herb walked up then. "Hey guys, what's going on in here?" Everyone ignored him (if only out of habit) and the confusion in the atmosphere rose to a new high.

"Now, Sissy, if you ever need a shoulder to cry on, you can turn to papa, isn't that right?"

"Yes, Daddy!" Sissy wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "But, can't I talk to my own friends, too?"

"I thought you said that Nicolas and Herb are just two boys who have a crush on you, and that you just keep them along to humor them. Didn't you also say that you can't be friends with people who are–" He pulled a notepad from his breast pocket and turned to a heavily scrawled upon page. "People who are idiots, dolts, doofus's, nerds, dorks, pinheads, insensitive, ugly or stupid?" he asked.

Herb and Nicolas looked at each other, then at Sissy. Herb sighed. "Well, looks like we can't be friends with Sissy."

"Yeah... I never knew she felt this way about us." Nicolas turned to the humiliated girl. "Sorry for being so stupid. So long, and thanks for all the fish."

"You even gave them my prized yellowtail that's been kept in my secret freezer underneath the floorboards of my office that' has also in a safe which has the combination three-three-four-three-one-two?!"

"No daddy, I gave them tuna!"

"Oh, okay, ignore that just then. If you're done crying your eyes out like a sissy, you can go now."

Awestruck, Sissy retorted, "But that's my name!"

"Correction: that is your nickname. Your name is Elizabeth Eileen Delmas, and if you like a nickname like 'Sissy,' there is nothing I can do." The Headmaster stood, straightened his tie, finished in a sing-song voice, "Sorry!" and skipped away, leaving Sissy bewildered and in search of meaning.

_Life sucks._

* * *

Fingers sore and aching, Pico grabbed Odd's own sore hand. "C'mon, the skydiving session starts in five minutes!"

"Wait, you weren't joking?!" Odd winced at her touch, and threw his backpack on one shoulder with his free hand. _That was a_ lot _of origami._ _And why are we outside the school gates right now?_

"Of course not! You see that water tower over there?" Pico pointed at a large building that looked sort of but not really like a water tower.

"Sort of, but not really," explained Odd.

"Well, they have these grated floors, and there's this HUGE fan in the ground which blows all of this air UP! And then, they lay you in the middle, and you float! Pretty cool, right?"

Odd stared at her wide-eyed. "That. Sounds. Incredible! C'mon!" He was the one tugging _her_ towards the tower now, and Pico giggled.

_In a few days, I've already gotten closer to Odd than ever._ She was getting the hang of this whole thing. Maybe Xana wouldn't go back to the supercomputer, and she'd live as a human from now on.

"Not so fast, Pico!"

"What the–? Sissy?" Odd stepped protectively in fron of Pico as Sissy stepped into their path.

"It's Elizabeth now. After all, that _is_ my real name." Sissy glanced at her watch. "Oh, snap, I don't have much time. Do you mind if I come with you guys?"

"And... why would we want that?" asked Odd.

"I don't know. I've got nothing else to do today. I think it'll be fun." Sissy smiled, and threw her arm around Odd's shoulder.

"Now wait a moment." Odd pulled her arm off. "What's the catch?"

"What catch?" asked Sissy.

"What's that mean?" asked Pico.

"What? Neither of you get it? Well, Pico, Sissy normally _never_ asks me, Aelita, Ulrich or the others for anything. Not only that, but if she is acting nice, there's usually a reason that's going to end in pain." Odd glanced behind him, to his sides, under his shoe... Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Oh, Odd, sometimes, people just want to do things." Sissy grabbed his free hand, and Odd blushed.

_Wait... Odd didn't blush when I grabbed his hand. Does he already prefer Sissy, no, Elizabeth to me? Although she doesn't know it yet, she's competing against me for Odd._

"Oh really." Odd's voice was dead.

"Yeah really." Elizabeth's was also dead.

"No... way..." said Pico, as she glanced at her watch. Odd and Elizabeth turned their heads slowly at the white-clad teenager, and then started laughing uncontrollably. "Wait, what'd I say? It's half past five, and the ice cream truck just left!"

Odd managed to choke out one phrase. "The internet... is serious... business!" Elizabeth started laughing even harder, and sank to her knees. Odd clutched his sides and started crying from the sheer hilarity of the situation, and Pico only stared at them both before yelling, "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!"

"Sorry, Pico..." Odd wiped his eyes with his sleeves and almost launched into a new fit. "I find the whole thing funny because this exact conversation occurred online for me a week ago."

Elizabeth rolled over and went, "What? The same thing happened for me!" And then, she and Odd locked eyes, and wondered, _Was I talking to her/him???_

"Except, I was talking to a girl I met online."

"And I was talking to a guy."

"But we were dating." Odd slowly realized where the conversation was going.

"So were we..." Elizabeth felt a wicked blush rising up to her skin.

Odd slowly shook his head. "You don't think..."

"You aren't... Breakdance593?" Elizabeth's face paled as Odd nodded.

"LizzyD?" Odd's face went pale as well.

"Again, what is going on?" By the time Pico finished asking the question, both of her friends had fainted, and it looked like no one was going skydiving that afternoon.

_Crap. Just when I thought I would surely get Odd, it looks like Odd and this girl were dating online... and they_ didn't even know _it..._ _Oh, this is bad... This is real' bad._ Pico took another look at her friends, then wondered how she was going to wake them.

__________

Wow. Who would've thought. Although, that one episode did show them about to meet up... Speaking of which, how did online dating in a boarding school even make it onto the airwaves???


	4. Water That Fuels Your Fire

Sorry for the delay. My school-issued computer had a hard drive failure, so I rewrote this from scratch. And... I think I'll be updating weekly from now on, as in a set cycle. Maybe bi-weekly... it depends on how I'm feeling, so... perhaps there's no set cycle at all?

__________

Odd, Pico, Elizabeth, and Ulrich were sitting in the gymnasium, surrounded by empty space and the sound of pregnant silence. It was their first time meeting together like this, and everyone was tense and on edge. Ulrich could feel that emotions were about to fly, but Pico couldn't at the moment. After all her time living in the real world, she was still a relative infant compared to those around her.

"Okay, so here's what I have in mind," started Pico. "Since Odd and you were dating over the internet, and never realized it, I think that you and he should try dating in the real world."

"No way," replied Odd and Ulrich at the same time.

"No offense, Sissy, but I could never date you."

'Ouch, that's harsh," seethed the taller girl. "Besides, get my name right; it's Elizabeth!"

"Sorry, _Elizabeth_." Odd crossed his arms and slouched in annoyance.

"Well, why are you against it, Ulrich?" Pico turned to the brunette.

"Odd told me to never let him date you, even if he had the chance."

"I did?" asked Odd. "When?"

"A few years ago."

"You remember that far?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"Apparently not Odd..."

"Elizabeth, isn't that sort of unfair? You don't even remember what you had for breakfast this morning!"

"WHAT?! Of course I do... Wait... Dangit, Odd!"

"Hey, whaduya know, even Elizabeth isn't infallible."

"Big words for such a pea-brain!"

"WHAT?!" shouted Odd, much like Elizabeth did a moment before.

"OKAY!" yelled Pico.

"YEEEEAAHH!" intoned Ulrich

"WHAT?!" screamed Elizabeth, but in obvious confusion. Pico, Odd, and Ulrich tried to stifle grins, then burst out laughing, and Elizabeth looked from shaking ribs to shaking ribs, wondering what the heck was going on.

"Nothing, it's a Lil' Jon thing."

"Who?"

"He's a rapper from the US," replied Odd. "There's this thing he does where he makes these crazy sounds in his songs, and their hilarious when out of context..." Odd stared at Elizabeth. "But now that I've explained it..."

"It loses its funny qualities..." Elizabeth looked at Odd intently, and he stared at her as well.

Ulrich looked between the two and sighed loudly. "What is it now?" he asked.

:"It looks like Odd finally figured out that LizzyD is just as clueless as the real Elizabeth, and that it's no different than online when they talked together."

Elizabeth and Odd just nodded slowly, and Pico and Ulrich stared curiously.

And then, Pico and Ulrich had to break the two apart from kissing so hard! Odd and Elizabeth had, in the span of three seconds, ended up with their mouths all over each other's faces and bruised lips and smeared makeup... Which, while quite passionate, is also very freaky. Not just in the whole nature of the situation, but in the way that the two kids who were always trying to kill each other were now trying to snog each other. Isn't life grand?

"Ulrich, what are you doing?!" shouted Odd.

"No, what are you doing? You almost bit your lip off trying to get to her!"

"And Pico, what are _you_ doing?" asked Elizabeth.

"Well, this whole thing kind of makes me uncomfortable enough, but now I feel at some romance movie." Pico blushed and pulled Elizabeth even farther away from Odd.

"Isn't life one big romance movie?" Odd scooted, ever so slightly, in Elizabeth's direction, and Ulrich tweaked his ear – ever so slightly.

"I guess..." Pico kept her hands firmly on Elizabeth's shoulders. "Even still, could you not glance at each other every three seconds, looking for a break so you can smooch?"

"Erm, that's not what's going on at all..." Elizabeth impulsively glanced at Odd, and Odd laughed.

"Oh wow, what a reflex fail."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and smirked. "Whatever."

"Isn't this whole thing sort of weird?" Yumi stepped out from the shadows, her left arm fiddling with her backpack strap.

"Why is it weird? And how did you get in here?"

"Well, I was already in here, playing some game with penguins that I lifted from the Headmaster. I mean, borrowed." Yumi blushed for a moment, which was pretty weird, and continued. "Anyway, you wanna know my thoughts?"

"Not really, but go ahead," said Odd, inching closer to Elizabeth. Ulrich shot an arm between them and moved to fill the space.

Yumi rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue at him. "Anyway, it looks like Ulrich and Pico don't want you two to get together, even though they organized this whole thing. Not only that," Yumi held up her hand when Ulrich began to comment, "but Odd and Elizabeth hate each other. And now, they're all over each other, itching to 'swap spit? That doesn't make any sense at all."

"Good point," said Pico. "I don't want Odd to date Elizabeth."

"Why?" asked everyone.

"I've... I've developed feelings for him myself." Pico looked down and blushed insanely, a smile creeping across her face as she tried not to think of Odd. Oh, Odd... With his crazy sense of creativity, and the way his face scrunched up ever so cutely as he tries to figure out a question in math class...

"Pico, you do realize that everyone can hear you, right?"

Pico looked up at the speaker, with his spiked blonde hair and embarrassed blush. "Oh, crap. Ignore that. Or don't. Anyway, I'm feeling really weird right now, so I should probably leave..."

"Oh, no you don't. I know when someone is feeling weird, and you aren't. Sit down, Pico – you and I need to talk," said Elizabeth.

"Only with them around."

"Only when no one is around," replied Elizabeth, baring her teeth,

"Okay, everyone calm down." Yumi stood and knelt between Elizabeth and Pico, so that the circle now went like this: Yumi, Elizabeth, Ulrich, Odd, Pico, and then back to Yumi.

"Besides, why doesn't Ulrich want us to be together?" asked Elizabeth.

"Hey, as a friend, I have a duty to keep Odd away from crazies like you,"

"You wanna say that again?!"

"Guys, chill!" Pico spoke a little too loudly, and everyone snapped their attention to her. "Sorry, I'm still not used to my new body yet..."

"WHAT?!" shouted Odd. "What do you mean, 'new body'?!"

"It's a long story. Meet me with..." Pico counted on her fingers... "Jeremy, Yumi, Aelita, and Ulrich, and I'll tell you all about it... sadly."

"Hey what about me?" yelled Elizabeth.

"And why 'sadly'?" asked Yumi

"Again, it's a long story. And Elizabeth, you couldn't handle the truth. No offense."

"Oh really?!"

"Well, if Yumi agrees, that would be yes, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," said Elizabeth sitting back down.

"Okay." Pico turned to Yumi. "Can Elizabeth know about Lyoko and Xana?"

"Who?" asked Yumi, quick on her feet.

"Exactly." Pico turned back to Elizabeth. "Sorry, but you really shouldn't know." She turned to Ulrich. "Ulrich, call Jeremy in a few minutes, and make sure he issues a RTTP, okay?"

"Done."

"I don't know how it'll affect me, but it's worth a shot."

"Umm, why?" asked Ulrich.

"Because if Elizabeth here runs around asking about Lyoko, then Xana might notice." Pico didn't mention how close she and Xana were. If the Lyoko warriors knew that pf all people, she could tell Xana the fastest, then... Actually, they'd know soon enough anyway.

"Oh, and you said that Odd and Elizabeth hate each other?" asked Ulrich.

"Yeah," replied Yumi. "I mean, they have been at each other's throats, you know, in the bad way, for the whole time they've known each other. Well, Elizabeth did start chasing Odd a few months ago..."

"I'm not chasing Odd!"

"Well, you're not chasing me; that's for sure." Ulrich smiled and scooted closer to Yumi.

"I may be interested in Odd, but I'm not _chasing_ him."

"Then call it what you will." Yumi shrugged and looked at Elizabeth curiously. "You know, you've changed a lot in the past few months. I feel a little proud of you."

Everyone turned to Yumi and went, "Why???"

"I sort of feel responsible, even if none of it is my fault. I started tutoring you in the summer, while school was out. And now it's the fall, and look how you've grown!" Yumi turned to Ulrich. "Remember how I'd always be at school? I was tutoring Elizabeth. And then, we'd go out on the town and go to the mall and stuff."

She turned back to Elizabeth. "You know, when you think about it, I was sort of like your big sister, right? It makes me feel a little special." Yumi smiled warmly, and Elizabeth fidgeted uncomfortably under everyone' curious glares.

Odd cleared his throat and shifted onto his other leg. "So let me get this straight. Sissy, I mean, Elizabeth, was tutored by Yumi for..." He counted on his fingers. "Six months..."

"Seven."

"Aww, Elizabeth, I wasn't done yet. Anyway, in those seven moths, Yumi's personality rubbed off on Elizabeth, and Yumi's love of Ulrich persuaded her to leave him alone?"

Ulrich blushed, and Pico laughed.

"I guess so..." Elizabeth looked down, blushing a little bit.

"Interesting..." mused Yumi.

"Yeah..." Ulrich scratched his chin, yawned, and fell back onto the glossy wooden floor. Where he hit his head. Umm, hard.

"OW!" he shouted, and everyone laughed save Yumi, who lifted his head and cradled it in the crook of her elbow... Dirty thieving elbow crooks...

"Hey! Don't laugh, that hurt!" Ulrich sat up and rubbed his head, and everyone instantly shut up.

And then, the act of shutting up so fast made them all giggle, and when Pico started giggling, everyone else laughed. After all, she had this weird sound like dying pelicans, and it was impossible not to laugh.

Have you ever heard a dying pelicans? It's sad, but if you don't know what it is, you'll laugh.

And then feel bad.

Anyway, Everyone started laughing then – Ulrich, because the situation was so weird, and Pico, because her on laughter makes her laugh, too!

THEY WERE ALL LAUGHING!

And then, Yumi called for order, and they slowly settled back down. "Okay, so where were we?"

Pico grinned. "Basically, Odd fell in love with Elizabeth, Elizabeth fell in love with Odd, I fell in love with Odd as well, and Yumi loves Ulrich, but Ulrich is too shy to reciprocate."

"More or less, you've got it spot on," replied Odd.

"Nice." Pico stood slowly and spun in a circle. "Okay, so here's what I'm going to do: Ulrich, I'm going to make you admit to Yumi."

"What? I already have!"

"Then say so."

Everyone stared at Ulrich, and he visibly started turning multiple shaded of red. "I, er..."

"Exactly!" Pico laughed and patted his head. "See? You're going to need my help after all." She turned to Yumi who had this look on her face that shouted, 'Get your hand off his head before I cut you.' Pico removed her hands.

"Sorry, Yumi, didn't know you were so possessive. Anyway, I'm going to also try and break up Odd and Elizabeth."

"What? Why?!" asked Elizabeth.

"Simple. I like Odd."

"You may like him, but you don't love him like I do." Elizabeth moved protectively in front of Odd.

"Love? No way. I've analyzed your relationship with him, and I think you've got rabid infatuation at most. Love? No." Pico paused, and turned so that she was facing Odd. "However, you two do have _something_, and it's up to me to take the thread that ties you and slice it in half." Pico smiled, her calm demeanor at odds with the weight of her words.

"Pico, you're pretty scary," replied Odd.

"Thank you, but... you have no idea." She grinned, and Odd couldn't help but grin back. Elizabeth shot a hand out and slapped his hand, and Odd whimpered.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Smiling at her like that." Elizabeth measuredly turned her head to Pico. "If we're going to be in a fight for Odd, you had better put up your guard."

"I intend to. In fact... In fact, I think that Odd had better choose between us."

Up until then, Ulrich and Yumi had been simply watching, but Yumi had a few thoughts as well... Clever girl.

"Wait a second, if Odd likes Elizabeth, why not just leave that alone?"

"Because I don't want him to love Elizabeth. I want him to love me."

"That's pretty creepy, Pico." Odd raised an eyebrow and cracked his knuckles out of habit.

"Oh, but you like that, don't you?" Pico smiled, and Odd had to look away to keep from smiling again.

Ulrich tugged at his collar. "Uh, besides that, this girl here?" He pointed at Elizabeth. "She's pretty possessive..."

"Oh, I know." Pico smiled, and turned back towards Elizabeth. "We'll just have to make you less possessive."

"That's even creepier," replied Elizabeth.

Pico bared her teeth. "Again; I know."

The tension in the gym was high, but measured. The game was set, and all the players were about to embark on a grand journey. Pico was the de facto, unstated captain, and she was driving their ship to an unknown destination. The only question was... How calm were the waters???

Everyone was more or less silent as they thought about how much weirder this year would be. Pico was already thinking of how to break her personal news to the Lyoko group, Ulrich was wondering why he couldn't ever tell Yumi how he felt, and Yumi was carefully stroking Ulrich's hair, wondering why he could never tell her how he felt.

The most in turmoil was Odd. He was trying to figure out a way to get Pico off his back... or should he get Elizabeth off his back? Why was he even thinking that way? I mean, it was obvious that he was meant to be with Elizabeth...

Right?

__________

Will Ulrich be able to get the courage up to tell Yumi how he feels? (Even still, everyone knows how he feels about Yumi anyway.) Will Pico succeed in capturing Odd's heart? Will Elizabeth be able to keep her Odd all to herself? Find out in future installments of _Green Crush_.


	5. Am I Really Going to Explain?

_If I had one wish, I'd..._ Pico found it hard to concentrate as she walked to her destination. While she should've been making sure her explanation made sense, all she could think of was Odd. _Oh wow, I really have developed a crush._

"Pico..." The girl turned around to see Elizabeth's face pressed against her own.

"Oh, hello, Sissy." Pico noticed the girl's mounting anger and corrected herself. "Sorry, Elizabeth."

"Whatever." Sissy looked as if she was going to say something, but only tossed her hair and shifted her purse higher on her shoulder. "I mean, it's no problem."

"Glad to hear it." Pico smiled and started walking again.

:"Hey, wait a second. I want to ask you something." Sissy touched Pico's shoulder and the younger girl turned around abruptly.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Well... Have you eaten lunch yet?"

"No. It's still about a couple of hours to noon." Pico shook her head slowly, her guard rising.

"Well... How'd you like to join me for lunch?" Elizabeth smiled, and Pico raised an eyebrow.

"No offense, but why?"

Elizabeth also raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I don't know. I just want to talk to you for a bit."

Pico stared curiously at the taller girl, her mind racing and forming conclusions. _No, calm down. She just wants to talk. It's pretty obvious when you look at her demeanor..._ "Yeah, sure. Where do you wanna go?"

"How about we meet at the front gates at noon?"

"Sure."

"Is the Kuroki Bistro on Cheauvre Avenue okay?"

Pico shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "I barely know my way around this town, but I'm sure it'll be fine." She looked up at the sky for a moment, then asked, "Wait, but what do they serve there?"

Sissy grinned and winked. "It's a surprise!" And then, she was off, and Pico stood alone once more in the empty courtyard. _That was weird. Why does she want to talk to me, of all people?_ she wondered, and walked a little slowly to the dormitory, her mind swirling with thoughts. _I mean, I am trying to win the love of her 'boyfriend'... She has been amicable about it, though. Hmm..._

With her thoughts intent on this new development, it didn't take her long to reach Odd and Ulrich's room, and she was a little surprised when her feet took her there. _These human bodies have many secrets._

She raised her hand to knock on the door, and paused when she considered how badly she might screw things up in the coming conversation. At the very least, no one would trust her anymore... maybe not even Odd.

It was a choice she'd have to take.

"HERE I COME!" she shouted, and wrenched the door open. She bolted the two feet into the room, then closed the door behind her. Considering this took all of .5 seconds, the Odd had a right to be surprised.

"What the --? P-Pico?" stuttered the boy, momentarily dropping his pencil onto the carpet.

"In. The. Flesh." Pico grinned lazily and pointed at Odd. "Where's everyone else's flesh?"

"They should be coming any moment now." Odd pointed at the door, not noticing how damaged it was from Pico's assault.

"Oh? Any moment?" Pico turned around, locked said door, then turned back to Odd, her face dripping with desire, and hunger, and something else that Odd couldn't quite put his finger on.

"That's right, Odd. I'm hungry. You're desirable. This whole situation is like a bad romance novel. And yet..." Pico closed the space between them, her eyes locked with his. "I'm not going to do anything." Pico smiled, and Odd raised an eyebrow.

"So... you lock the door."

"Yes."

"And then you say you want me."

"Yes."

"Finally, you aren't going to do anything?"

"Yes."

"So you are going to do something."

"No."

"Wait, what?"

"Do you want me to do something?"

"Not really..." Odd tugged at his collar as he thought of... Of _her_.

"Ah. So you still think of Sissy, even when you've got all you'll ever need in front of you."

Odd blanched. "It's not like that, Pico."

"OH? THEN WHAT IS IT LIKE?" Her all-caps speech was detuned by the fact that she was whispering now.

"I don't know!" Odd turned his head and faced the floor, in a classic imitation of a confused, enamored and downcast character. "I like you Pico. I like you more and more every day. But, I've known Sissy, or Elizabeth, for years. I've seen the side of her she doesn't display, you know, her true self. I like that about her, how fragile she really is."

Odd paused, and ran his hands through his hair. "But then, I think of you, and how different you are. You're always nice, You're always beaming, and you always know what to say and when to pick me up, you know? You're like an upbeat version of Elizabeth. Whatever she's lacking, you have in thirds. I don't know what to think anymore."

Pico mulled this over in her mind, and came to a conclusion. "Maybe I should help you decide." And then, her face was pressed to his, and her arms were around his neck. "I am going to kiss you now."

"Oh wow, thanks for the warning."

"Anytime." And then, she was all over him, and he was at her mercy. Her actions were mechanical at first, as she tried to get into the motions of romance. But then, they came fluidly, and her kisses, her nips, her bites, her touches – they were all organic, all human.

In fact, they were so entranced with each other that they didn't hear the door open, and four pairs of eyes on them. They were so into their emotions that they didn't hear the door close rather loudly, and those four pairs of eyes surround them. You know, they were so into each other–

"Odd, what the heck do you think you're doing?" I, the narrator, was cut off by Ulrich's booming voice, which cleanly pierced their consciousness, and tore the two teenagers apart.

"Ulrich?" asked Pico, her glasses askew and a line of saliva [EEEWWW! That's gross!] connected to Odd's mouth.

"Wow, where did you guys come from? I thought Pico locked the door." Pico nudged him none too lightly, and Odd facpalmed when he realized what he said aloud.

"Apparently, Pico didn't. The lock was broken, probably in her haste to snog with Odd." Jeremy pushed up his glasses and opened his laptop.

"Hey! It's not like that."

"So why were you two all over each other for five minutes when we walked in?" Yumi demanded, her arms crossed.

"What! You perverts!" Pico stood up, the saliva still connecting Odd's mouth with her own. [HOLY CRAP, WIPE THAT AWAY OR SOMETHING!] "Odd and I were only trying to enjoy a romantic, ethereal experience, and you stand there for five minutes, watching??? I... I can never forgive you."

"Hey, I shouldn't be forgiving you! Taking advantage of Odd like that." Ulrich pulled his buddy away from her side, making the saliva stretch farther... "And eew, get a napkin."

"I've got better." Pico leaned over, kissed Odd, and then the saliva was gone... presumably into Pico's mouth. Ehs and Odd grinned while everyone looked at each other, their faces painted with disgust and... aghast-ment-ness-ness.

"That is wicked gross. Even Ulrich and I don't do crap like that," said Yumi

"Probably so, but that's not what Odd thinks..." Pico winked, and everyone shuddered, save Odd, who only shook his head slowly and tried to keep a straight face.

"Whatever, Pico," replied Yumi.

"Well, anyway, now that we're all here... It's time for me to tell you what's going on." Pico yawned and stretched, unknowingly exposing her midriff to everyone in the room.

"Yeah... you had mentioned Xana and Lyoko in the gym, so..."

"Yeah, well..." Pico looked down at the carpet and sat down next to Odd, averting her eyes from the group of kids around her. "Okay, do you want the short version or the long version?"

"Short version?" asked Ulrich.

"As long as possible," said Jeremy, and everyone groaned in protest.

"Okay. I'll just do both." Pico closed her eyes for a moment. "But promise me that you won't freak out. You need to listen to everything."

"Agreed," said Ulrich.

"Whatever," replied Yumi.

"Then it's time to get to the bottom of this, right?" Aelita moved to the other side of Jeremy, and the circle shifted once more as people got into their positions. It now went like this: Ulrich, Odd, Pico, Yumi, Aelita, Jeremy... and then back to Odd.

"Okay... here goes..."


	6. Thanks For All the Fish

Sorry for the seriousness of these recent chapters, folks. The situation is pretty heavy in the room right now. Anyway, read on!

__________

"My name is not Pico." I took a deep breath and continued. "My name is Xana."

No one said a word, like I thought would happen. And then, Aelita spoke up. "Haha, very funny, Pico. Now, what were you really going to tell us?"

"No, I'm not kidding. I'm Xana. You know the big scary guy who's always trying to steal Aelita's memories? That's me." I started playing with my fingers, a nervous trait I picked up from Aelita at some point, and felt their eyes trained on me as I fretted about how this would go over.

"That's... that's not logical!" shouted Jeremy.

What the–? Why wouldn't they believe me? "Oh yeah?!" I countered. "Then why do I know that I said the exact same thing when I pretended to be Jeremy that one time.

:"Holy crap, she might be right," said Yumi.

"I am right. Now, you guys promised to hear me completely out, so don't even think about rushing to Lyoko." I turned to Jeremy and Aelita. "And you... the towers you guys checked out a while ago are mine. Please don't mess with them." I turned to Ulrich and Yumi. "You two are undeniably the strongest ones here, so I'm asking that you not try anything." And finally, I turned to Odd. "Odd... I think we're going to need to talk some more after this."

"First of all," began Jeremy, "what gives you the right to make demands?"

"They're not demands; I did ask all of those things. If you're wondering, I'm not here to cause trouble. That's why I waited so long to tell you guys that I'm... Xana."

"So, you worked us over for a few months while you built up our trust, only to strike us?" Ulrich seethed.

"No; if I wanted to do that, I would've done it already."

"How do we know you aren't still planning that?"

"Because if I were, any chance of me getting to any of you is dashed now that you know who I am. Am I right?"

"Granted," replied Aelita.

"Thanks." I paused for a second, composing my thoughts. "Now, undoubtedly you are wondering why I'm actually here, and not on Lyoko wreaking havoc."

"Exactly!" Ulrich shouted. "That's exactly what I was going to ask you"

I laughed, and everyone stared at me like I had two heads. "Yeah, no need to get so worked up. But anyway, I'm only here to have a little fun."

"How? By poisoning the school's lunch meat?" Yumi's tone was fierce, and almost backed away. ­_No, gotta stand my ground. I'm in no wrong here, after all._

"I've been there, done that, remember?"

"Oh, right. So what do you mean by 'fun'?"

"Nothing, really." I smiled. "It gets pretty boring, stuck in a computer all your life. Aelita can definitely back me up on that. So, I'm here to stretch my legs, so to speak. I want to do all the things you humans do. I want to learn, to love, to grow, to... to..." My greatest desire started to boil up in my lungs. "I want...

"I WANT TO EAT FLAN!!"

Everyone was on edge, and jumped a foot in the air, which should really be impossible from a seating position, but... Anyway, I think I scared them a little. "Oops, didn't know my voice could get so loud. But yeah," I said, "I really want to eat flan."

"Okay. Not creepy in the least," said Ulrich.

"Now. I'm promising you that I'm not here to cause any harm. I just want to be normal."

"Define normal," replied Jeremy.

"See, that's the thing! I can't yet. I know that I want to be more than just an empty shell of hatred and malice. It really doesn't do any good. I want to be more like... more like your buddy Odd here." I pointed to the blonde haired boy who had remained silent since my revelation. "He's so carefree, so easygoing, so... so fun and normal. Truth be told, another reason I came to the real world was him. I really, really like him."

"Do you really?" asked Odd, as he carefully turned his head towards me.

"I do, indeed. I have for a very long time, longer than you'd think. I have an extensive network of eyes and ears in the real world, primarily around Kadic. I've seen you grow up, Odd." I knew I was starting to sound vaguely creepy and old, but I didn't stop. "I was there when you first found out about Lyoko. I was there when you got your teeth knocked out when you and Ulrich first started playing. Heck, I was even there when you first realized how important Sissy could be to you." I lowered my eyes a little, and finished. "I was here when you saw how important I can be."

The group didn't say anything, and then Ulrich finally raised a hand and said, dryly, "Yeeeaaahh... That's not creepy _at all_."

For some reason, I just started laughing, and then Jeremy joined in, and then Odd, and then Aelita, and then even Yumi and Ulrich. We were all laughing, and it felt like we were having an okay time. And then, Jeremy cleared his throat.

"Okay, okay. No offense, Xana, but this whole situation is freaky."

"How?" I countered.

"First of all, your presence in the real world bothers me. If you can materialize yourself, then who or what else can you materialize?"

"Go on."

"And another thing... Why are you... nice?"

Yumi clenched her eyes and went, "What, nice? Xana? _Nice?_"

"Now hold on, Yumes." Ulrich closed his eyes and laid pinched his brow, which was pretty weird considering his next words: "Jeremy's right. Pico, you've been nothing but, well, nice to us. You always make us laugh, you've helped us bridge the gap between ourselves and Sissy, and you help us all with our homework – even Jeremy. There is no way that you can be Xana."

I even closed my eyes, trying to think of a way to get through to them. "Okay, Jeremy, for the second part, I can materialize whatever I choose. Besides normal specters, a surprising number of things can come from the scanners." I smiled a little as I thought of someone I might materialize at a later date. "Oh, and well, don't you think that...?" I let my voice trail off until someone picked up the bait.

"Think what?" asked Aelita.

"Don't you think that people change?"

"Hold it right there! Xana, no offense, but you are NOT a person."

I narrowed my eyes. "Ouch, Aelita. What makes me any different than you?"

"People have feelings, emotions, things that separate us from impulse driven animals and programmed beings." Her words really hit home, but I knew just what to say... Plus, I get ten points for it being the truth.

"Aelita, my very existence here means that I have emotions. Why else would I come to Earth?" I saw the entire group open their mouths, and quickly backpedaled at 1800 meters per second. "Okay, okay, what I meant to say was that I'm here to win Odd's heart. Sorry to keep putting you on the spot, Odd, but I'm not joking. It's the truth. It might be a hard to swallow, but it's the truth."

"And why should we believe you?"

"Because..." I actually halted out of necessity. What was there to say? Why _should_ they believe me? I'd been trying to kill them for years now, and out of the blue, I show up with no ill intentions? Yeah, right. If Jeremy suddenly stopped working on his codes designed to destroy me, I wouldn't believe it. Not only that, but it wasn't as though I was offering a truce or anything... Wait! That's it! That'll work fine, and it _is_ the truth, after all.

Yumi shook her head in evident disgust and stood. "See? You can't even give me one good reason. As far as I'm concerned, my life is in more and more danger the more I sit here talking, so I might as well–"

"Wait, Yumi. I do have a reason." I took a breath and announced, "I want a truce."

She eyed me for a second, and I knew that I was on the right path. "Go on."

"I want to stop the fighting. It's pretty much pointless, anyway. If I won, what would happen? I'd just leave Lyoko to wreak havoc on the world? That gets pretty boring. Instead, I want to just live life as a normal person, much like you guys." I finished talking, but their eyes were still on me. "What, guys? I feel like I'm being tried for a crime or something."

"Well, you are, Pico," replied Odd.

"It's Xana," Yumi corrected.

"Does it even matter?" I asked. "I'm still me, whether my name is Xana or Pico.

"It _does_ matter," said Aelita. "Pico is the name to which we can match this bright, bubbly girl with. Xana is an evil entity that tried to slaughter us all. Your personalities don't even match up."

"So none of you still don't think I'm Xana."

"I do," said Odd.

Jeremy replied in kind. "I do as well."

Ulrich, surprisingly, said the same. "So now it's just Aelita and Yumi."

Aelita turned to her boyfriend. "Jeremy, do you remember how in Lyoko I could feel the vibrations?"

"Yeah."

Aelita turned back to me. "You don't make any vibrations."

I thought for a moment. "It could be that we aren't on Lyoko. You don't see Ulrich triplicating during a soccer match, do you?"

"Hey, it's happened." said Ulrich.

"Plus, I'm not here to cause damage. If I was, you guys wouldn't be around right now."

"Good point," said Odd.

"And one more thing... Have any of you ever seen my eyes flash?"

No one said a word. My eyes had flashed a few times, back when I was fresh out of the scanner. But since then, they hadn't flashed at all. It felt pretty good, knowing that I could pass as human. Heck, for all intents and purposes, I _was_ one. I laughed with my friends, cried at the theaters, got mad at Jim, and loved Odd. It felt great.

"So, is there any more doubt that I'm Xana, I want a truce, and I'm not here to hurt you?" I leaned back against the wall and crossed my arms over my chest.

"None on this side," replied Jeremy and Aelita. "Jinx, you owe me a soda!" shouted Jeremy, and Aelita socked him in the arm.

"I don't. What about you, Ulrich?"

Ulrich turned to his best friend. "Nothing. Yumes?"

She glanced at me and replied, "I don't... but." She turned back to me. "If anything goes wrong, remember that I didn't like this."

I grinned, and suddenly reached across and pulled her into a hug made awkward by the floor. "Yumi, cheer up. Why so serious?" I asked, and we all laughed. "Oh, and just one more thing."

"What?" asked Odd.

"I just wanted to let you guys know that this means a lot to me," I said. "I mean, I am Xana. Of all things, you guys should've ran straight for the factory and did all that you could to shut me down. Instead, you guys stayed here to hear me out. Because of that, I'm still here." I shut up for a second, and tried to get my thoughts under control. "I'm not going to say something sappy like, 'All I ever wanted was to be loved', because that's an obvious lie. However, all I ant right now is to be happy. Stuck in the supercomputer, I was never happy. But here, tasting the sunshine, feeling the grass, holding you guys in hugs... It's much better, you know? So... thanks."

The more I spoke, the larger Jeremy's look of consternation and constipation grew. I was about to ask him if he was alright when he turned to Aelita and went, "Wow. I never thought that... I never thought that Xana could be so capable of emotion. He was built from the ground up by Franz Hopper, and he's progressed to the emotional level. These things can't be possible, can they?"

"Umm, Jeremy, I can hear everything you say," I said, a blush rising up my neck. "Talk about my composition later, when I'm not thinking of how wrong you are."

"Huh? I'm wrong? About what?"

"I'll tell you later, when it'll make more sense. Until then, don't worry about it." I smiled at all of them for a moment, just taking in their varying emotions. Emotions are grand, you know? "Oh, one more thing," I said. "As you might know, I'm pretty much born from the supercomputer. There's a lot of things I still haven't gotten the hang of, so if any of you would like to help me adapt to reality..."

Odd jumped on it immediately, and I grinned. "Don't worry, Pico. Life's fun. It looks like I'm going to have to learn you much about life, even more than Aelita here." Odd hooked his thumb over his shoulder and chewed on an imaginary stalk of wheat. This was gonna go great.

__________

Again, sorry guys. This chapter and it's precedent were too serious, right? It's sort of hard for me to make light of search a scene like this, where Pico is under heavy fire. I'm glad that Odd stuck by her side, though.

The next chapter will be much more light-hearted. Is anyone up for... PING PONG???


	7. Rockets Went Off in Blazes

"Are you ready for this?"

"You're on."

Ulrich tossed the ball up lightly, then slammed it straight down the center, barely passing over the minuscule net. Odd jumped up, turned a somersault, and smacked it back, the ball deforming against the racket and bouncing on the table once before being sent sky high... Yes, it was another boring game of ping pong.

"So how do you play?" asked Pico to Yumi, who was her opponent in the next game.

"Have you ever played tennis? No, of course not... Well, you basically hit the ball over the--"

"Nevermind, I got it. Thanks, though." Pico smiled and turned back to frenetic game.

"What?"

"I just downloaded all the information from Wikipedia."

"Then why ask me in the first place?" Yumi demanded.

"I didn't know I could do that until I realized I understood the game. Then, I looked at my logs and saw that i made an HTTP GET request to the--"

"Never mind. I don't get all that mumbo-jumbo computer crap."

"Well, sorry. I didn't mean to cut you off through your explanation."

"Whatever." Yumi shrugged and turned back towards Ulrich and Odd. The two were already at deuce 9ten and ten), and the game was really picking up now. Odd pulled a topspin off the ball, and Ulrich anticipated it. What he didn't see was the flick Odd imperceptibly placed at the end of his lob. So, while Ulrich made to snap it back with the hard side of his paddle, the ball merely hopped the net and bounced twice, and Ulrich stayed suspended in the air.

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!" cried Ulrich, and Odd laughed at his face.

"How do you like the Sneak?"

"It's friggin' sneaky. Come on, this game isn't over yet."

Pico turned to Yumi. "I thought you needed eleven points to win?"

"You do, but--"

"Oh, I figured it out. Thanks Yumi!"

"What the--! Odd could you make her stop?"

"Pico..." Odd lowly growled, and tossed the ball to Ulrich.

"Yes," replied the girl.

"Piiiicooo...."

"Yes?"

"Are you bothering Yumi."

"...No?"

"Apologize." Ulrich casualy served the ball, hoping to catch Odd off guard.

"But Odd..."

"Apologize this instant!" Odd spun and smacked the ball across the net, the end of his paddle quivering in excitement. I'm not kidding you. It just... sorta like, quivered. You had to be there, man.

"Sorry, Yumi. I don't mean to ask you for stuff i can figure out on my own, and cut you off mid-sentence."

"I know, I know..." Yumi smiled faintly and socked Pico in the arm. "I hope this isn't your way of being nice. It's dang annoying."

"It's not; don't worry." The girl smiled, and the two friends turned back to the game.

"HOLY FISHPASTE!" shouted Odd. "How the heck did you do that?!"

"Do what?" asked Yumi.

"Ulrich just broke the ball."

"What?" Pico and Yumi got up and walked to the table, where the ball lay crumpled in a smoldering mess.

"Oh wow..." whispered Pico.

"Ditto. Ulrich, do you know what it takes to crumple a ball like that?"

"A wicked fast arm." Ulrich smiled smugly at Odd, who just looked back and forth between the scorch marks on the paddle and the still collapsing pile of plastic on the table. "Well, it looks like we're even again."

"I am _not_ about to let this go unnoticed," said Odd, and he procured another ball from his pocket. "I'm going to beat you this time, Ulrich Stern!"

"Oh, Odd is serious," said Yumi as she and Pico sat back down on the floor.

"How do you know?"

"Odd normally never calls anyone by their full name. I think the last time he called Ulrich that was when we went on a class trip to the pool, and Ulrich pushed him in the deep end."

"Ah, I remember that mission. Good times..."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, I was just remembering how I attacked the bus the class was riding. That was pretty good management, Yumi. Telling everyone to get on one side of the bus as it turned one way, and rounding all the younger ones together..."

"But I didn't do all that. Ulrich did." Yumi turned to her sweaty boyfriend, still smacking the ball with Odd.

"Oh. Right. Still, you did amazingly well."

"Whatever." Yumi brushed off the praise and watched the white smear of the ball as it flashed between opposing sides. "But why did you say that it was a good time?"

"Well, it was. I used to like that sort of thing -- causing havoc, stirring up people, creating chaos. It was like going skydiving. You know that it might cause some heartache if you die, but that's why it's so amazing. You're controlling your life, and with the bus, many lives. Of course, I don't feel that way anymore." Pico noticed all eyes on her. Even the table tennis matched had paused, the ball still hovering in the air like a streak of white as the boys hung on her words.

They all unspokenly reached a verdict. "You're sick." And then the match went on, and Pico was bewildered.

"Sick?"

"Yes. That's very psychologically sick," replied Yumi.

"But I don't feel that way anymore."

The game came to a pause when Odd missed the next bounce; Ulrich pulled a side driver and Odd epicly missed. "Blast you, Ulrich!!!"

Yumi looked into Pico's eyes, trying to see what she was thinking. "Sure. Sure, Pico." Yumi moved to move, but Pico grabbed her arm.

"Wait, Yumi. I mean it. That was a part of me that I'm leaving behind. I'm not like that."

"And how am I supposed to believe that?"

Pico sighed. "Just think of that time when I made you guys trust me. There is no way that I'm against you all. Honestly." Pico stared back at Yumi, and tried to send a mental message; _I'm not like that._ And then, in a surprising and deft maneuver, she pulled Yumi's face close to her own, and kissed her.

"HOLY CRAP!" shouted Odd, who happened to catch the motion in the corner of his eye. He turned to say something, and Ulrich took advantage of the distraction to send the ball bouncing on Odd's side, then to the ground.

"Okay, so what were you looking-- HOLY CRAP!" echoed Ulrich. Like Odd, he stood there transfixed by the sight of Pico stealing a kiss from Yumi. Yumi was paralyzed in shock. Pico had her face in a death grip, and her kiss was so tender...

"Okay, okay, break it up, you two," said Jim, barging his way from nowhere between the two girls. "Now, far from me to get involved in personal matters, but Pico, what is the matter with you? Last time I saw a girl kiss another girl was the year this school opened!"

"You saw a girl kiss another girl, Jim?" asked Odd.

"I'd rather not talk about it. Still, Pico, are you feeling okay?"

"I... I'm fine. I don't know why I did that. Sorry, everyone." She wheeled back around to the still shocked Yumi, her lips still parted from the kiss. "Sorry, Yumi. Wait... Yumi? Heelllooo?"

She waved her hand back and forth in front of Yumi's eyes until Yumi snapped to attention. "She turned slowly to Pico, and as deftly as Pico had kissed her, she tackled her to the ground.

"Ah! Yumi!"

"Pico, I don't even let Ulrich kiss me. How dare you make a move when it's obvious that I love this boy over there?!" A wicked blush rose raced across Yumi's cheeks as she thought of how embarrassing this situation was.

"Yumi! Unhand Miss ﻿Rousseau right now!" Jim pulled the older girl from the girl with exceptionally long hair. "what are _you_ thinking?"

"Sorry Jim. Pico is killing me right now." Yumi shot a look that writhed with evil in Pico's direction.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to make you angry. I just meant to make you see, and then my body moved on it's own. I'm sorry." Pico covered her face with her hands, obviously as humiliated as Yumi about the whole thing. "It won't happen again, I promise."

And then, Yumi felt sorry for the girl, who was in all effects, a child. She still hadn't grasped how the world worked. Fresh from the scanners, she was trying to belong somewhere. All she needed was a little guidance.

"Pico, do you know why I'm so upset?"

"Because in Reality, girls don't kiss girls?"

Yumi threw out everything she had just assumed. "You knew!" she cried.

"No; I just assumed that when you tackled me."

"Oh. I see." Yumi then realized how Pico was a fast learner. "I... I'm sorry. Look, unless you've got some serious issues up here," Yumi tapped her temple, "you don't kiss girls, only guys."

"Why not?" asked the innocent Pico.

"It's just... it's just not right. I can't explain why, but you'll understand as you get older."

"Well, what about all the people on the Internet who say it's fine?"

"Are you downloading again? Never mind. They have their opinions, we," she motioned to the people around her, "have ours. It's a hard life if you want to be a lesbian, is all I have to say."

Pico remained silent for an unusually long time, presumably researching more baout the subject at an alarming rate. "I... I see. Sorry, Yumi."

"No, it's fine. You're learning, that's all."

"Yeah, but... I'm not a lesbian. I like Odd. And I'm not bisexual, either. I know I don't like you like I like him. No offense meant."

"None taken." As always, Yumi shrugged, and socked Pico lightly in the arm. "I;m just glad I'm not going to lose you like I lost another of my friends."

"You lost one of your friends?" asked Pico.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you some other time."

Jim stretched and yawned loudly. "Well, I've got more work to do. Pico, control yourself. Yumi, control yourself. Ulrich, don't beat Odd too badly. Odd... Odd... whatever." Jim dashed off through the gymnasium doors.

"Wait, what?! Come back here Jim!" Odd seethed at the closing doors and turned to Ulrich. "How dare he patronize me!"

"Big word."

"Whatever. Who was winning, anyway?"

"I did."

"Wait? You won?" Odd looked at the table tennis table, as if there were some sort of clue to his defeat scrawled upon it.

"Yep. It's not my fault if you like to look at random directions while a ball is hurtling toward your face."

"FYI, Ulrich, Pico kissed Yumi. That should get anyone's attention."

"Sorry for not caring." Ulrich grinned good naturedly, and stretched. "AAAaaannyway, got time for another match?"

"Nope, sadly. I have to go meet Sam."

"Who's Sam?" asked Pico. "Someone I should know about?"

"Actually, yes. You should come, Pico. You'll love her." Odd smiled and moved to help Ulrich put the ping-pong equipment away.

"Okay. I'll come. What are you going to do, Yumi?"

"Probably gargle some bleach and spend the rest of the day asleep."

Pico put two and two together and got five. "Again, I'm sooo sorry, Yumi."

"Call me Yumes. And I forgive you. You're brand new to Earth, so why should I fault you for being ignorant? No offense."

"None taken."

With that at that, our heroes set off to the next town, to pursue their goals of becoming Pokemon masters. Of course, that's what you're expecting... right?

__________

Whoooo, it's been forever since I updated. But updated it is now. And if I offended anyone with the PicoxYumi, bit, sorry. I knew that Pico's orientation would have to come up sooner or later, seeing as she wasn't raised like everyone else.

Obligatory asking for reviews: REVIEW, FOO'!


	8. WANT SOME COOKIES?

Fudge, I'm sorry, what readers I have. I meant to update much sooner, but as we can see, nothing ever comes about by meaning to -- only doing. So I've done this chapter, and I'm gonna get started with the next one. Hope you enjoy!

__________

"Don't walk backwards, Pico."

"Why, Odd? What's the worst that could happen?" Pico grinned and walked backwards into a lightpole.

"That."

__

Meanwhile, on a distant street somewhat north, yet also south of the Kadic Academy, was a small girl by the name of Samantha Knight. Although she was rather short, she was taller than Odd, yet shorter than Ulrich. Her height matters because it will play a very unimportant role in the progress of this chapter. Wrap your head around that.

"Oh, Odd.. I miss you so." Samantha gazed at the oceanfront, at all the kids playing and frolicking in the sun like the cute little muffincups they were. 'Someday Odd and i will have muffincups of our own,' she thought. 'Someday...'

She was interrupted from her daydreams by a knock at her front door. "I got it!" shouted her mother, already bounding down the stairs. She literally slammed into the front door, and opened it, albeit a little shakily. "May I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Odd Dell--"

"Get the heck away from my home, you ruffian! Ever since I let my darling little girl meet you, it's been nothing but tears and heartache! You think I don't know how you hurt her? All she wanted was to be your friend, and although I don't particularly agree with dating at her age, she probably also wanted to even date you! No, no, you can turn around and go home."

"Mrs. Knight, I don't think--"

"Of course you don't think! All you do is [beep] around with your [beep][beep] friends and cause all sorts of [beep] harm to my [beep][beep][beep] little girl! If you don't get off my [beep] lawn within the [beep] next [beep][beep] 45 [beep] minutes I'll have to [beep][beep][beep][beep][beep] to your [beep][beep][beep] so [beep][beep] far up your [beep][beep][beep][beep] and [beep][beep] so that [beep][beep] your [beep] and [beep][beep] to [beep][beep] all [beep][beep][beep][beep][beep][beep][beep][beep], and you'll have to [beep] sideways!"

Odd and Pico stared up at the towering woman, her hair swirling in the conveniently strong breeze. Her face was set in such hatred, and her eyes boggled at an unruly angle.

"...Mom?" Samantha, with eyes as wide as Odd and Pico, tugged slightly, fearfully on her mother's shirt.

"Oh, I'm sorry you had to hear that, sweetie. Mommy sometimes just gets carried away." She patted her daughter on the head and smiled sweetly, then turned her steely gaze back on the duo standing on her lawn.

"No, mom. This isn't Nick. Nick is the bad one. This is Odd. Odd is the good one. Don't scream at him, please. Screaming is bad."

"Have you been reading Simple English Wikipedia again?"

"Yes, mom..." Samantha drew circles in the ground with her toes."

"Okay!" Mrs. Knight ruffled Samantha's hair and turned her attention to Odd and Pico. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Why don't you come on inside? I have cookies."

"Umm, thanks, but Pico and I should probably be leavi--"

"I SAID I HAVE [beep] COOKIES!!" Mrs. Knight grabbed Odd by his hair and Pico by her arm and gently tugged them into the dark house. "Come, come... we'll have lots of fun."

Samantha sighed, shook her head, and followed them in.

"Okay, I've heard so much about you!" Mrs. Knight was positively beaming as Odd and Pico sat across from her and her daughter. A tray of fresh cookies sat on the middle of the table, and everyone had a glass of cool milk. Mrs. Knight had opened the windows, and a soft ocean breeze quietly tickled everyone's skin as they sat there.

"Are you sure it was me, and not Nick?"

"Oh, if you're the good one, you've got nothing to worry about!" She laughed, and took Odd's hands in her own. Odd immediately blushed.

"Mrs. Knight... your hands are so warm." Samantha silently kicked his foot, and Pico nudged him in the ribs.

"Thank you, Odd."

"M-my pleasure, Mrs. Knight."

"Please, call me Tezra."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Mom, this is Odd. He's not old enough for you."

"Now you hush, Sammy."

"Aww, in front of my friends?"

"But you like Sammy, Sammy!"

As Odd and Pico smirked, Sam thought, 'I could just curl up and die. Wait. Odd and who?'

"Oh. who are you?" asked Tezra, gesturing to the girl sitting next to Odd.

"My name is Pico Rousseau. I'm one of Odd's friends, and hopefully I'll be one of your daughter's." Pico smiled warmly at Tezra as Sammy and Odd looked on.

"I... I..." Tezra felt tears come to her eyes as she gazed upon the tiny little girl. "Pico, you have warmed my heart and moved me to poetic action." The woman leaned across the table and pulled Pico's face close to her own. "Young girl, you are something special. I can sense it." She promptly released Pico and snapped back to her seat, satisfied.

"Mom... what was that for?"

"Oh, nothing. Right, Pico...?"

Pico stared back at Tezra. "Ye... Yes, ma'am." Her face a violent crimson, she stood shakily from her chair and whispered, "Excuse me." Before anyone could stop her, she was out of the house.

Odd and Sammy exchanged a glance. "Excuse me, too," he said, and bolted to get his former arch-nemesis.

Sammy turned back to her mom. "Can't we just have a normal conversation for once?"

Tezra smiled and replied, "No." And before Sammy could get away, she wrapped her up in a tight hug and whispered, "My butter-muffin."

__________

Weird, Tezra. Weird. I do not own YGOTAS.


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